USDA Confirms Second Case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

USDA Confirms Second Case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in a Commercial Flock
in Lincoln County, Tennessee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 16, 2017

TheUnited States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) has confirmed a second case of highly pathogenic H7N9 avian influenza in a commercial
breeder flock in Lincoln County, Tennessee. This H7N9 strain is of North American
wild bird lineage and is the same strain of avian influenza that was previously confirmed
in Tennessee. It is NOT the same as the China H7N9 virus that has impacted poultry
and infected humans in Asia. The flock of 55,000 chickens is located in the Mississippi
flyway, within three kilometers of the first Tennessee case.

Samples from the affected flock, which displayed signs of illness and experienced
increased mortality, were tested at Tennessee’s Kord Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory
and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames,
Iowa.

USDA is working with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture on the joint incident
response. State officials quarantined the affected premises, and depopulation has
begun. Federal and State partners will conduct surveillance and testing of commercial
and backyard poultry within a 10 kilometer (6.2 mile) radius of the site.

The United States has the strongest AI surveillance program in the world, and USDA
works with its partners to actively look for the disease in commercial poultry operations,
live bird markets and in migratory wild bird populations.

USDA will be informing the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as well as international
trading partners of this finding. USDA also continues to communicate with trading
partners to encourage adherence to OIE standards and minimize trade impacts.

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is working directly with poultry workers at
the affected facilities to ensure that they are taking the proper precautions to prevent
illness and contain disease spread. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking
of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F kills bacteria and viruses.

Wild waterfowl are natural hosts for avian influenza, including H5 and H7, and can
shed the virus without appearing sick. These low pathogenic viruses can mutate to
highly pathogenic forms after introduction to poultry. People should avoid contact
with sick/dead poultry or wildlife. If contact occurs, wash your hands with soap and
water and change clothing before having any contact with healthy domestic poultry
and birds.

Additional background Avian influenza (AI) is caused by an influenza type A virus which can infect poultry
(such as chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, domestic ducks, geese and guinea fowl)
and is carried by free flying waterfowl such as ducks, geese and shorebirds. AI viruses
are classified by a combination of two groups of proteins: hemagglutinin or “H” proteins,
of which there are 16 (H1–H16), and neuraminidase or “N” proteins, of which there
are 9 (N1–N9). Many different combinations of “H” and “N” proteins are possible. Each
combination is considered a different subtype, and can be further broken down into
different strains. AI viruses are further classified by their pathogenicity (low or
high)— the ability of a particular virus strain to produce disease in domestic chickens.

This information was produced and provided by the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA).